Bike tribes

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

freiston

Veteran
Location
Coventry
Puts on nit-picking hat.

Why only the professional scene? There are a lot of extremely competitive amateurs.
My understanding is that the industry doesn't market bikes to the professional competitive cyclist and that the professional competitive cyclist does not procure their bikes in the same manner that the non-professional Joe Public would - I made the exception primarily because the professional is outside of that marketing process.

Also, the requirements of the professional competitor are pretty much a "given" - it's black and white - whereas there's a whole spectrum on the amateur side of things from Olympian down to Strava chaser - there's a whole debate there that I didn't want to get into partly because I didn't consider it pertinent to the point (of marketing pigeon-holing) but more of a digression.
 

Juan Kog

permanently grumpy
https://road.cc/content/review/222750-cyclist-who-went-out-cold
Well, Tim Moore rode a MIFA 900, an East German shopping bike, probably the bike equivalent of a Trabant, the length of the Iron Curtain, Finland to the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, the story is in the book linked to above.
Thanks @DRM you reminded me I had a copy of this book tucked away. A pre coved charity bookshop purchase . Just started it , Tim is still in a very wintery Finland .
 

simongt

Guru
Location
Norwich
A copy of the CTC magazine had a survey of some sort a while back, including asking what sort of bike/s the filler in had. I was amazed to see a list of I think, fifteen different types of bike - ! :wacko:
I have three; my Super Galaxy for commuting, day rides and touring. A Brommie for shopping and wizzing around the city, also for occasional rides out and a 1981 Dawes Fox which is my fun / sports car bike - ! :okay:
As I don't go 'offroad' or race/ timetrial anymore, this trio meets my cycling needs very nicely - ! ^_^
 

proletaratOne

Active Member
I actually think cycling's incredible range of activities makes it unique amongst sports. I can't think of another sport that allows you to do everything from pro racing to track to road to MTB downhill to cyclocross to gravel/non-downhill XC to commute to leisure to families to adaptive to touring to family transport. And I love how broad the range of 'cyclists' is.

What other sport is so versatile?
Makes sense…. But hats because cycling is a pretty basic form of transportation, that can be adapted to activities of transportation, leasure, or competition. Just change mindset and terrain and it’s a different thing

also the variable price point makes in very accessible to a lot of people.

same with skill level

however I can one up it

RUNNING
Can go from a jog to catch and elevator, to a track and field event, to the road and trail races

as well as being an key component to most sports
And the training of them (example… how much boxers run before a fight)

and the price point is pretty much… being born.

barring a serious handicap I would guess to say running is a activity most people have done at some point in there life

same can’treally say that for sailing
 

freiston

Veteran
Location
Coventry
I actually think cycling's incredible range of activities makes it unique amongst sports. I can't think of another sport that allows you to do everything from pro racing to track to road to MTB downhill to cyclocross to gravel/non-downhill XC to commute to leisure to families to adaptive to touring to family transport. And I love how broad the range of 'cyclists' is.

What other sport is so versatile?
A good deal of the activities that you list are not "sport" per se. Cycling is a means of transport/conveyance that can be utilised and specialised and can be made into a sport. Other means of transport/conveyance can similarly have specialisations and be utilised to make a sport. Two feet (sans machine) and vehicles with internal combustion engines spring to mind.

I generally have next to no interest in sport, especially as a spectator. I can't honestly say that I detest sport, I can even enjoy it on occasion, but most of the time I really don't like it.

I love cycling and people that I know get sick of me working it into almost every conversation but I do not like or follow cycling as a sport - it holds no interest for me, it bores the pants off me. If someone starts talking about the Tour de France (or whatever), I usually "switch off" or bend the conversation to non-sport cycling.

This isn't a go at you, Cathryn, so please don't take it as one but one of my pet peeves is the frame of reference that automatically categorises cycling as a sport. Imho, it does no favours to promoting cycling as an alternative means of transport to the private motor vehicle, or to the acceptance of bikes on the roads and in town planning but instead makes it exercise not transport (and a lot of people would rather pay a gym fee and dream of exercising in a nice dry warm gym than actually get on a real bike for exercise), it can alienate people, make people feel excluded or even "not good enough".
 

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
Makes sense…. But hats because cycling is a pretty basic form of transportation, that can be adapted to activities of transportation, leasure, or competition. Just change mindset and terrain and it’s a different thing

also the variable price point makes in very accessible to a lot of people.

same with skill level

however I can one up it

RUNNING
Can go from a jog to catch and elevator, to a track and field event, to the road and trail races

as well as being an key component to most sports
And the training of them (example… how much boxers run before a fight)

and the price point is pretty much… being born.

barring a serious handicap I would guess to say running is a activity most people have done at some point in there life

same can’treally say that for sailing
Sailing as a sport includes dinghy racing, yacht racing, ocean racing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, match racing sailing, fleet racing, class racing, radio control racing, plus others I can't think of at the moment.

The original question in post #10 asked what sport is as versatile as cycling. I believe sailing is that sport. I accept the fact that running is available to nearly everyone on the planet, which is not true of sailing or cycling.
 
OP
OP
Oldhippy

Oldhippy

Cynical idealist
A good deal of the activities that you list are not "sport" per se. Cycling is a means of transport/conveyance that can be utilised and specialised and can be made into a sport. Other means of transport/conveyance can similarly have specialisations and be utilised to make a sport. Two feet (sans machine) and vehicles with internal combustion engines spring to mind.

I generally have next to no interest in sport, especially as a spectator. I can't honestly say that I detest sport, I can even enjoy it on occasion, but most of the time I really don't like it.

I love cycling and people that I know get sick of me working it into almost every conversation but I do not like or follow cycling as a sport - it holds no interest for me, it bores the pants off me. If someone starts talking about the Tour de France (or whatever), I usually "switch off" or bend the conversation to non-sport cycling.

This isn't a go at you, Cathryn, so please don't take it as one but one of my pet peeves is the frame of reference that automatically categorises cycling as a sport. Imho, it does no favours to promoting cycling as an alternative means of transport to the private motor vehicle, or to the acceptance of bikes on the roads and in town planning but instead makes it exercise not transport (and a lot of people would rather pay a gym fee and dream of exercising in a nice dry warm gym than actually get on a real bike for exercise), it can alienate people, make people feel excluded or even "not good enough".
Superbly said!
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
I can see it from both ends. At one extreme I'd like just one bike - something capable enough to cover many miles but understated / tatty / cheap enough not to worry about leaving it locked up outside the pub or supermarket. I think the ideal format for most would be roady-gravel bike or tourer. Realistically however I think you'd struggle to get anything worth having that's not attractive to some extent to thieves; so that brings me to a minmum of two bikes.

At the other end of the spectrum, space and funds permitting I can also acknowledge the desire to own one of everything for the sake of both function and appreciation of their intrinsic qualities.... Minimalist ideals aside, currently I can't think of much better than an enormous garage filled with lots of nice old steel tourers and road bikes; while a decent full-sus MTB would be nice for proper off roading, plus maybe another gravel bike with fatter tyres and slacker geometry, a nice old-skool sit-up-and-beg vintage commuter, a fat bike, recumbent, velomobile - the list goes on...:rolleyes::tongue:

*edit* - actually of course I can think of something better - I'd settle for just one bike and some bloody decent weather to ride it in tbh!
 
Last edited:

Drago

Legendary Member
Cruisers and Klunkers have made a bit of a comeback. Im wondering how long before off the shelf Trackers become a thing. Big cowhorns, cyclo-speedway tyres, you know the sort of thing, but with a 531 frame, spiral butted 6061 bars, DT Swiss wheels, bring the cocnept right up to date.
 
Top Bottom